Museum of Labels

The bookseller deals in cultural memories, superficially, purely economically, but nevertheless. And in doing so, providing a simple service, he may occasionally find something which is lacking an account in the general bank of culture.

This museum is an attempt to open an account for these little fellows, miniscule traces of other booksellers, as they made their life in the book differential: The fact that many books last longer than their owners. Second hand booksellers take care of the fact that books live on even when their owner dies. And bookseller labels last longer than booksellers: Welcome to this international cemetery of the trade.

They are tiny, fragile, and speak in many ways. They are the postage stamps of books.

We are not the first to have collected them: If books are required, a good starting point is Reinhard Öhlberger: Wenn am Buch der Händler klebt. Wien: Löcket Verlag, 1999. 354p large format, a few original labels included, is offering an international history of the book-trade, dating certain labels and documenting the design changes for single bookdealers. Another publication is Larry Dingman: Bookseller Marks (1986) and Marcus McCorison: Book Trade Labels in the American Antiquarian Society (1973.) See also Sevenroads, Greg Kindall's Gallery of Book Trade Labels

Buchhändler all over the world: Yes, there is a whole class of labels from exotic places with suspicious German sounding names: Here are the first notes for a study of Auslandsbuchhandel (perhaps not an entirely contingent topic for Plurabelle Books)

If you too have a few and want to trade, we are quite well stocked with local labels from the likes of Heffer, or Heffers, Deighton & Bell, Diver and Son, Galloway & Porter, Plurabelle, etc.